Application of a strain gauge cutting force sensor in machining process monitoring

Cutting force is a key factor that affects machining quality, it is closely related to cutting vibration, surface smoothness and etc. Measuring cutting force is an effective method for monitoring cutting condition and optimizing machining quality, but this needs a lot of experiments research to clarify the influence of cutting force on machining quality. Therefore, a self-developed strain gauge cutting force sensor is employed for cutting condition monitoring and machining quality analysis in this paper. Experiment results show that the cutting force sensor is able to measure dynamic cutting force reliably, and the measured cutting force can accurately reflect the changes of cutting parameter and cutting condition. Characteristic signals for reflecting machining quality and representing are also found in the cutting force data. The influence of cutting force on cutting vibration and surface smooth as well as cutting fault is preliminarily clarified. It proves that cutting force can be effectively used for monitoring cutting condition, optimizing cutting parameters and predicting cutting faults.